1862 JOSEPH J. MICKLEY LETTER

 

Eric P. Newman Correspondence Files Showcase Auction Features 1862 Joseph J. Mickley Letter

Now open for bidding, Heritage Auctions is offering Selections from the Eric P. Newman Correspondence Files, a Showcase Auction which closes on March 25. Among the 97 lots is a two-page letter (lot #52083) from the Philadelphia numismatist Joseph J. Mickley, dated March 19, 1862, in which Mickley comments on coin prices.

The letter, signed by Mickley and addressed to Francis Lepère, notes in part the price of American coins has gone up very high within several years past, owing to there being a great many Collectors and to our old coins being recoined, the old Copper Cents and Halves disappearing from circulation rapidly. The reference to halves no doubt indicates half cents. As other authors have noted, the introduction of small cents in 1856 led many Americans to being examining their pocket change, especially large cents, and the overall coin consciousness of the American public grew steadily, especially on the east coast.

Newman published a transcription of this article in Coin World, October 29, 1969, a clip of which is included with this lot. Nothing is known of how Newman acquired the Mickley letter, although the St. Louis connection may have played a part. Francis Lepère appears as a St. Louis grocer in the 1850 and 1870 censuses and is likely the identity of Mickley's correspondent. As a grocer, he would have handled small change, an ideal situation for a coin collector of that era. The Coin Collector's Journal of September 1876 mentions Francis Lepere, of St. Louis. Lepère was further a named consignor to the July 17-18, 1876, sale of the dealer John Haseltine and to the February 15-16, 1904, sale of S. H. & H. Chapman. Given the paucity of numismatists in St. Louis in the Civil War era, this letter would certainly have piqued Newman's interest.

Image: Extract from Joseph J. Mickley letter to Francis Lepère, March 19, 1862

Link to the Joseph J. Mickley letter at Heritage Auctions:
https://coins.ha.com/itm/miscellaneous/mickley-joseph-j-holograph-letter-signed-dated-march-19-1862-and-addressed-to-francis-lepere-written-on-both-sides-of-one-sheet-of/a/63247-52083.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515

Link to the Newman Correspondence Files Showcase Auction sale home page:
https://coins.ha.com/c/auction-home.zx?saleNo=63247&ic=breadcrumb-coins-121913-interior

Link to John Haseltine sale of the Francis Lepere collection, July 17-18, 1876:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctionlots?AucCoId=510907&AuctionId=511584

Link to S.H. & H. Chapman sale including material from Francis Lepere,
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctionlots?AucCoId=21&AuctionId=510894

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
FEATURED WEB PAGE: JOSEPH MICKLEY'S DIARY (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n02a31.html)
LONG-LOST JOSEPH MICKLEY LETTER REDISCOVERED (https://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n22a10.html)
JOSEPH MICKLEY MEMORIAL MEDAL AND ARCHIVE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n31a27.html)

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